Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Abstract
All contributions in the current memorial volume are briefly commented upon, with the emphasis on how these issues touched upon, or were linked
to, the long and productive professional careers of the late Felder brothers, in the fields of geology, palaeontology and human prehistory. Pertinent
literature references are added, some of which are covered in the various papers, while others illustrate their wide range of interests and prolific
publishing lives.
Introduction al., 1962; W.M. Felder, 1977). Werner also took a keen interest
in geological mapping (W.M. Felder, 1981, 1996), flint genesis
In assembling the present volume over the past two years, we and ichnofossils (W.M. Felder, 1980) and, when in the field,
have attempted to cover all aspects of Neolithic archaeology had a good eye for macrofossils of various kinds, although
(prehistory) and Late Cretaceous stratigraphy, palaeontology, belemnitellid coleoids and echinoids ranked amongst his
geology and geochemistry, in which the late Felder brothers, favourites.
Werner and Sjeuf (Fig. 1), took an interest, knowing that this Although covering the same field, Werner and Sjeuf did not
would turn out to be a near-impossible task. Such has been always see eye to eye on matters stratigraphical, to put it
their impact in these fields, that for generations to come their mildly. Sjeuf’s bioclast-based ecozones proved to conflict with
papers will be consulted and referred to, and their data used. Werner’s formal lithological units (W.M. Felder, 1987) on several
Werner’s work revolved primarily around the formal occasions. In later years, the brothers found a way to deal with
lithostratigraphical subdivision of strata of Late Cretaceous their differences of opinion, by simply agreeing (P.J. Felder &
(Santonian-Maastrichtian) and early Paleogene (mostly Danian) W.M. Felder, 2008) that they were both right!
age (W.M. Felder, 1975a, b). During a period of at least forty-five The Felder brothers co-operated closely during the
years, he produced logs of all outcrops, both working quarries excavation, exploration and documentation of Neolithic flint
and temporary exposures, in southern Limburg (the Netherlands) mines at Rijckholt-St. Geertruid (P.J. Felder et al., 1998). This
and contiguous areas, the so-called ‘Ontsluitingenarchief’ , and meticulous work did not go unnoticed in countries all over the
he never missed an opportunity to update on one or more of world, and in fact led to the working group being invited to
these, in particular the section exposed at the ENCI-Heidelberg support similar work done in England and elsewhere.
Cement Group quarry at Maastricht (W.M. Felder & Bosch, 1998, Sjeuf’s career revolved mostly around the theme of bioclasts
2000). Thus, we now have key data on outcrops long gone, such and ecozonation, which he introduced (P.J. Felder, 1981) as a
as those along the ‘toeristenweg Epen-Vaals’ (W.M. Felder et new means to correlate and date Upper Cretaceous and lower